Il Sentiero della Bonifica: a 62-km. bicycle and trekking path that traces the Canale Maestro between Chiusi and Arezzo, a six-centuries long land reclamation project that transformed the hydrology, agriculture, and settlement of the Chiana river valley by draining the valley towards the Arno River in the north, rather than its original direction south to the Tiber River. Tectonic changes, climate shifts, and siltation exacerbated by deforestation had made the valley, located just west of our Gioiella-Vaiano villa site, marshy, malarial, and unsuitable for occupation or agriculture. The final drainage system was designed under the energetic supervision of Vittorio Fossombroni.

The Battle of San Fatucchio, waged between Lago Trasimeno and Lago di Chiusi in late June, 1944, pitted Canadian forces and the 38th (Irish) brigade as part of the British Army’s XIII Corps (Eighth Army) against German soldiers trying to hold the Trasimene Line. One focus of the battle was the Cimitero di San Fatucchio and the Parrocchia di San Felice Papa across the road, both located on a prominent hill. Ordinance from the battle is still present in the area (though not near our villa site, which was well off the path of the troops); in 2014, a 12-year-old boy with a metal detector uncovered a phosphorus grenade but escaped injury. Locals also tell the story of a farmer who hit a phosphorus bomb with his plough, and two cluster bomblets were found in the area in February 2016.